Human resources presents employment strategies to public school trustees
By Samantha Johnson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on December 15, 2022.
reporter@medicinehatnews.com Medicine Hat Public Schools’ human resources team gave a presentation to the division’s board of trustees this week, focusing on various aspects of employment. Rita Olsen began Tuesday by presenting employee data. In the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years there were a higher number of retirements than seen in previous years and Olsen concluded this was due to COVID and certain staff deciding not to return after working from home. As a result, there were more new hires for both 2021-22 and the current school year. Last year there was only a 50 per cent transfer of probationary hires, 14 in total, to continuous employment. For some there wasn’t a permanent placement, others didn’t fit and two were hired back this year on temporary contracts. Christine Hornung presented the HR director update and discussed how the division is working toward a people strategy rather than an HR one. People strategies foster employee growth and people empowerment, such that employees become ambassadors to the organization, she said, adding that they foster equity and inclusion, aiding employees to feel trusted and supported. As a result, employees are more engaged and work harder. Lastly, she said when employers commit to the well being of their people, the entire organization does better. This is all part of a shifting workplace culture that values psychological well being as much as physical health. Psychological health and safety in the workplace was first introduced by Hornung and further discussed by the next two speakers. It is a popular topic across organizations to assist employees feeling more connected to the division, thus contributing to students’ educational success. Janine Tolhurst discussed Occupational Health and Safety, saying each school and location have a representative who acts as the point of contact for health and safety along with making recommendations for improvement. They are also responsible for the monthly AED checks. The group performs annual OHS inspections, sets priorities for division-wide OHS improvements, reviews draft protocols, completes hazard reports and compiles injury/incident data. A health and wellness update by Sahra Scahill completed the presentation. She outlined several initiatives the division has put into place. One is Well at Work by EdCan, which supports education leaders across Canada to develop and implement strategies to improve K-12 workplace well being. The division has moved to Inkblot Therapy this year, a digital mental health platform which offers a variety of services and can get employees quick access to supports, within 24-72 hours after a request. It is not only for those experiencing a crisis but can deliver daily life challenge coaching and other such services. The division has partnered with Calm App for the 2022-23 school year and obtained 160 licences, covering about 20 per cent of division staff. Of those who signed up, 78 per cent are using the app daily, mostly for sleep and morning wake-up meditations. Calm App is the No. 1 app for mental fitness with more than 100 million downloads worldwide. 14-13
